Filament guide



March 30, 1965 E. J. DAMBROGIO FILAMENT GUIDE Filed NOV. 13, 1962 ATTENEY 3,175,784 FELAMENT GUIDE Edward 3. Darnlirogio, Elmhurst, ilL, assignor to Western Electric Ccmpany, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Nov. 13, 1962, Ser. No. 237,070 3 Claims. (Cl. 242128) The present invention relates generally to a filament guide, and more particularly to a filament guide to be mounted at the end of a rotatable payoff fiyer to provide automatic threading of a filament through the guide as the filament is payed off the fiyer-end of a stationary supply spool. The general objects of the invention are to provide new and improved guides of such character.

In the telephone industries, literally thousands of miles of wire are manufactured each day; in fact, at one particular location, enough wire is manufactured each day to encircle the world one and one third times. With such large scale production requirements, it is of paramount importance that each component operation in the fabrication of such wire be completely automatized. To this end, technological advancements in the wire drawing, wire reeling, and wire insulating arts have been rapid and widespread throughout the industry.

One area in which the technology has failed to completely automatize operations, however, is the paying off of copper wire from stationary supply spools to wirefabricating apparatus. In that operation, wire is alternately payed off from a pair of supply spools, turned on end side by side, by a rotatable payoff fiyer mounted on each, the trailing and leading ends of successive spools being joined to provide continuous payoff. Heretofore, several manual operations were requisite in such operation; namely, the wire had to be initially threaded through a guide at the end of the first payoff fiyer, it had to be disengaged from that guide whenthe first supply spool was exhausted, and the wire on the alternate spool had to be then engaged with the guide on its payoif fiyer.

Because of the high degree of efficiency required in order to produce the above quantities of wire, it is not enough that the payoff of wire be continuous as described hereinabove. The manual engagement of the wire in and disengagement from the respective guides is not only time consuming of itself, but it also, if not promptly attended to, can hold up production for several precious minutes. Such inattentiveness is rarely due to the operators negligence; rather, it is brought about in most cases by the exhaustion of several supply spools simultaneously, thus requiring simultaneous changeover of guides on several wire-fabricating installations.

The obvious solution to such problem is to devise a wire guide having the inherent feature of automatically engaging the wire and threading the same through itself, and automatically disengaging from the wire when the associated supply spool is exhausted. However, all prior attempts at devising such a guide, ingenious as they were, proved to be uniformly unsuccessful in achieving the desired end.

Therefore, another object of the invention is to provide new and improved filament guides for use with a stationary spool having a rotatable flyer mounted on one end thereof, which guides automatically engage a filament and thread the same through themselves.

Further objects of the invention are to provide new and improved wire guides in combination with alternate supply spools, each containing wire to be payed off one end by a rotatable payoff flyer, which wire guides accommodate automatic threading of the wire therethrough as payoff is begun from the associated supply spool, and automatic disengaging therefrom when the associated supply is exhausted.

EJTSJM "Patented Mar. 30, 1965 A filament guide in accordance with the invention includes a pair of fingers which are mounted in spaced relationship at the free end of a flyer on a stationary spool, so that both fingers extend generally radially outward of the spool, a first one of the fingers extending radially beyond the other finger and lying generally ahead of the other finger in the direction of flyer rotation during payoff. In addition, the fingers converge such that the free end of the first finger extends rearwardly beyond the projection of the other finger.

In accordance with a specific embodiment of the invention, such guide is fabricated from a bifurcated member having spaced fingers of different lengths. The fingers converge in the above-described manner, the longer finger being the first finger, and thereby define an eyelet for confining the filament with an entrance aperture between the terminal ends of the fingers. The fingers are additionally bent relatively apart such that the free end of the longer finger is displaced axially away from the direction of filament take-up with respect to a datum plane perpendicular the axis of tlyer rotation, and the free end of the shorter finger, axially toward the direction of filament take-up.

Further, such wire guides, when utilized in a preferred installation, accomplish automatic changeover between a pair of upright, alternate supply spools. Filament being withdrawn from a first one of the spools to a point above and between the dyer ends of both spools, crawls outward along the flyer arm and upward along the shorter finger into the entrance aperture of the first guide where the longer finger snags the filament and causes it to crawl upward therealong into the eyelet. When the first spool is exhausted, the filament disengages from that guide, and the leading end of filament on the alternate spool, joined to the trailing end of the first filament, is threaded through the second guide in the same manner as the first.

Other objects, advantages and aspects of the invention will appear from the following detailed description of a specific embodiment thereof when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the bifurcated member from which a preferred filament guide is fabricated;

PEG. 2 is a plan view of a fabricated guide of preferred form;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the wire guide of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan View of a specific application of the preferred guide in a payoff installation having alternate supply spools; and

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the payoff installation depicted in FIG. 4.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 4 and 5, filament guides, designated generally by the numeral 19, are mounted one at the end of each of a pair of rotatable flyers 11 and 12 for paying filament 13 off one end of an associated spool 14 or 15. Because of the total dependence of the design of the guide it) upon such application, the fabrication of the guide must be described in terms of that application, and constructed accordingly, in order to accomplish the objects set forth above.

With that relationship in mind, a filament guide 10 in accordance with the preferred embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, is fabricated from a flat, relatively rigid bifurcated member 16 having spaced fingers of different lengths, the longer one being designated by the numeral 17 and the shorter one, 18. The guide 10 is fabricated with the fingers i7 and 18 bent relatively together, as depicted in FIG. 2, such that, when mounted at the end of the flycr ill or 12 (FIGS. 4 and 5) with the longe finger 17 lying generally ahead of the shorter finger 18 in the direction of flyer rotation designated by the letter X, the free end of the longer finger extends rearwardly beyond the projection A of the shorter finger. With that configuration, an eyelet 19 is formed for confining a filament 13 with an entrance aperture 20 between the terminal ends of the fingers.

In addition, the fingers 17 and 13 are bent relatively apart, such that they slope with respect to a datum plane perpendicular to the axis Y of flyer rotation as shown in FIG. 3, the shorter finger 18 sloping axially toward the direction Z of filament take-up and the longer finger 17 sloping axially away from such direction, as depicted in FIG. 5. Finally, the completed guide is further provided with a threaded fastener 21, or any conventional mechanism, for mounting it on the fiyer ill or 12 so that the fingers l7 and 18 extend generally radially outward therefrom.

In accordance with the specific application illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, one such guide 10 is mounted at the end of each flyer 11 and 12 as depicted above. In the preferred application, the spools 14 and 15 are turned on end, side by side, so that they are upright and stationary, and so that they enable a supply of wire contained on each to be alternately payed out in continuous fashion. The flyers l1 and 12 are rotatably mounted one on each of the spools 14 and 15 as by bearings ?.222 mounted at the upper end of shafts 23-23 extending upwardly through the center of the respective spools l4 and 15. As is known in the art, it is requisite that the fiyers 11 and 12 be of greater length than the radius of the spool ends 24 and 25 in order that successive convolutions of filament l4 (specifically, wire) on the associated supply spool 14 or 15 may be payed off cleanly and efiiciently by the rotation of the flyer as the wire is withdrawn from that spool.

As set forth above, the guide 10 is fabricated in terms of the requirements it must fulfill in the specific application in order to accomplish the stated objects. It is, of course, a corollary requisite that the wire guide 10 be mounted on each flyer ill and 12 so that it will in fact be oriented in accordance with those requirements. Specifically, the entrance aperture 20 must face in a direction contrary to fiyer rotation during payoff, as shown in FIG. 4. As a final requirement, the width of the guide 10 must be no greater than the corresponding dimension of the associated flyer 11 or 12.

With each guide 10 so constructed and arranged, the leading end 26 of the wire on the first supply spool 14 is automatically threaded through the guide 10 on the associated payoff flyer 11 when payoff is begun. This is accomplished in the following steps. As the leading end 26 is pulled from the flyer-end of the spool 14 toward a point lying radially beyond the length of the flyer 11, and at a height above the supply spools, the wire necessarily falls across the flyer 11 at some point around the circumference of the spool 14 as successive convolutions of wire on that spool are unwound.

Continued unwinding of the wire causes the flyer to rotate therewith as the successive convolutions are payed off. When the flyer l4 approaches the side of the spool toward which the wire is withdrawn, the wire crawls outward along the flyer on the underside thereof and upward along the bend of the shorter finger 18 of the guide it) into the entrance aperture 20. The longer finger 17 than snags the wire in the entrance aperture 20 and, because of its rearward and/ or downward bend, forces the wire to crawl upward therealong into the eyelet 19 where it is confined by such bend throughout the entire payoff operation for that spool 14.

During the payoff of wire from the first spool 14 and before that spool is exhausted, the trailing end 27 of that wire is joined, as by soldering or welding .or other conventional methods, to the leading end 28 of wire to be payed out from the alternate supply spool 15, as shown at 2? in FIG. 5. Thus, when the first supply spool 14 is exhausted, the wire is pulled taut between the alternate supply spool 15 and the guide it) on the first supply spool 14, forcing it to pull out of that guide through the entrance aperture 20. The leading end 28 of the wire on the alternate supply spool is then pulled across the associated payoff flyer 12 as the slack in the wire is taken up, and is subsequently threaded through the guide 10 thereon in the same manner described hereinabove wit-h respect to the first supply spool.

Thus, utilization of the preferred guide 17 in the abovedescribed manner effects automatic changeover between alternate supply spools. The wire is automatically threaded through the guide at the beginning of the payoff operation for the first spool, and automatically disengaged therefrom when that spool is exhausted. Subsequently, the wire is automatically threaded through the guide on the alternate supply spool and hence changeover is effected with no manual intervention whatever. Such automatic changeover can be continued indefinitely by replacing the exhausted spool each time with a new supply spool and fusing the leading end of wire thereon to the trailing end of the wire being payed off.

While one specific embodiment is described hereinabove, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A filament guide of the type which is mounted at the free end of a rotatable flyer for paying filament off one end of a stationary spool, which filament guide comprises:

a pair of fingers mounted in spaced relationship at the end of the flyer, said fingers extending generally radially of the spool and converging in the plane of flyer rotation, a first one of said fingers lying generally ahead of the other of said fingers in the direction of fiyer rotation during payoff and extending radially outward of and rearwardly beyond the free end of said other finger and at least one of said fingers being bent relative to the other of said fingers in a plane perpendicular to the plane of flyer rotation.

2. The filament guide as recited in claim 1, wherein the first finger slopes with reference to a datum plane perpendicular to the axis of flyer rotation such that the free end is displaced axially away from the direction of filament take-up.

3. The filament guide as recited in claim 1, wherein the first finger slopes with reference to a datum plane perpendicular to the axis of fiyer rotation such that the free end thereof is displaced axially away from the direction of filament take-up, and wherein the other finger slopes with reference to the datum plane such that the free end thereof is displaced axially toward the direction of filament take-up.

4. A filament guide of the type mounted at the free end of a rotatable flyer for paying filament off one end of an upright spool, which filament guide comprises:

a bifurcated member having spaced fingers of different lengths, said fingers extending generally radially of the spool when mounted at the end of the flyer, and converging in the plane of flyer rotation, and the longer finger lying generally ahead of the shorter finger in the direction of flyer rotation during payoff and extending radially outward of and rearwardly beyond the free end of the shorter finger to define an eyelet for confining the filament with an entrance aperture between the longer finger and the terminus end of the shorter finger, and at least one of said fingers being bent relative to the other of said fingers in a plane perpendicular to the plane of flyer rotation.

5. The filament guide as recited in claim 4, wherein the shorter finger is bent upward, and the longer finger is bent downward.

6. A filament guide to be mounted at the free end of a rotatable flyer to provide automatic threading through said guide of a filament payed off one end of an upright stationary spool, said filament guide comprising, a flat, relatively rigid, bifurcated member having spaced fingers or" difierent lengths which extend generally radially outward of the spool when said guide is mounted at the end of the flyer, the longer finger lying generally ahead of the shorter finger in the direction of flyer rotation during payoff, said fingers being bent relatively together such that the free end of the longer finger extends rearwardly beyond the projection of the shorter finger, to define an eyelet for confining the filament with an entrance aperture between the terminal ends of the fingers; the shorter finger being bent upwardly, whereby the filament crawls outward along the payoff flyer and upward along the shorter finger into the entrance aperture as the filament is payed out; and the longer finger being bent downward, whereby it snags the filament in the entrance aperture and forces it to crawl upward along that finger into the eyelet.

7. In combination with an upright, stationary spool containing a continuous filament, and a flyer of a length greater than the radius of the spool, mounted at the upper end of the spool for rotation about the vertical axis thereof; a filament guide mounted at the free end of the flyer, said filament guide comprising, a bifurcated member of a width no greater than that of the flyer, having spaced fingers of different lengths which extend generally radially outward of the spool, the longer finger lying generally ahead of the shorter finger in the direction of flyer rotation during payoff, said fingers being bent relatively together such that the free end of the longer finger extends rearwardly beyond the projection of the shorter finger, to define an eyelet for confining the filament with an entrance aperture between the terminal ends of the fingers; and said fingers being bent relatively apart, the shorter one up and the longer one down; whereby the filament, when payed ott the flyer-end of the supply spool to a point radially beyond the flyer arm, crawls outward along the flyer arm and upward along the shorter finger into the entrance aperture, where it is snagged by the longer finger and crawls upward therealong into the eyelet to effect automatic threading of the filament through the guide.

8. In combination with a pair of alternate stationary supply spools turned on end side by side and containing wire, the trailing end of the wire on a first one of the spools being joined to the leading end of the wire on the second, and a payoff flyer of a length greater than the radius of the spool, mounted at the upper end of each spool for rotation about the vertical axis thereof; a wire guide mounted at the free end of each flyer; said wire guide comprising a flat, relatively rigid, bifurcated member of a width no greater than that of the flyer, having spaced fingers of different lengths which extend generally radially outward of the spool, the longer finger lying ahead of the shorter finger in the direction to flyer rotation during payoff, said fingers being bent relatively together such that the free end of the longer finger extends rearwardly beyond the projection of the shorter finger, to define an eyelet for confining the wire with an entrance aperture between the terminal ends of the fingers; and said fingers being bent relatively apart, the shorter one up and the longer one down; whereby the wire, when payed off the flyer end of a first one of the supply spools to a point above and between the supply spools, crawls outward along the flyer arm of the first spool and upward along the shorter finger of that guide into the entrance aperture where it is snagged by the longer finger and crawls upward therealong into the eyelet to efitect automatic threading of the filament through the guide; whereby the wire automatically pulls free of said guide on the first spool when that spool is exhausted; and whereby the wire on the second spool is then automatically threaded through its guide in the same manner as wire was threaded through the first guide.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,466,852 4/49 Keith 242128 2,727,704 12/55 Smith 242-157 2,857,118 10/58 Rayburn 242l28 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

RUSSEL C. MADER, Examiner. 

1. A FILAMENT GUIDE OF THE TYPE WHICH IS MOUNTED AT THE FREE END OF A ROTATABLE FLYER FOR PAYING FILAMENT OFF ONE END OF A STATIONARY SPOOL, WHICH FILAMENT GUIDE COMPRISES: A PAIR OF FINGERS IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP AT THE END OF THE FLYER, SAID FINGERS EXTENDING GENERALLY RADIALLY OF THE SPOOL AND CONVERGING IN THE PLANE OF FLYER ROTATION, A FIRST ONE OF SAID FINGERS LYING GENERALLY AHEAD OF THE OTHER OF SAID FINGERS IN THE DIRECTION OF FLYER ROTATION DURING PAYOFF AND EXTENDING RADIALLY OUTWARD OF AND REARWARDLY BEYOND THE FREE END OF SAID OTHER FINGER AND AT LEAST ONE OF SAID FINGERS BEING BENT RELATIVE TO THE OTHER OF SAID FINGERS IN A PLANE PERPENDICULAR TO THE PLANE OF FLYER ROTATION. 